the mix tape lives on!

This may look like your average cassette tape...but if you flip it open you'll find a nice little surprise. Inside is a small, 64MB USB memory stick! & a place for you to write in a play list.
I would have so much fun making one of these for everyone I know!...& then make a party mix for myself.
They were available here, but sadly they are out of stock.
PS if you click on the picture, you should be able to get a preview of the inside!
via the curious life

top 5: female actresses aka "the girl crush"

I have always been a big believer in what I call "the girl crush."
I think it's extremely healthy for me to have 1 (or 5) crush(es) on other girls.
(& don't worry...my boyfriend has a couple "boy crushes" so he gets where I'm coming from)
Today I discovered other people are firm believers in this idea as well (ie the lovely lady over at truth.beauty.freedom.love.....{read her top girl crushes here}).
So, by following her example, I'm going to make a list of my top 5 girl crushes of the moment.
...& then (hopefully) start a little 'Top 5' routine.
If everything goes as planned, once a week I will post a 'Crush List' with my 5 favorites of the moment...whether it be girls, boys, or types of knots.

So off we go!
My Top 5 Female Actress Crushes of the Moment:

5 - Cate BlanchettCate Blanchett is quite possibly the classiest women I've ever laid eyes on. I hope to some day be as graceful as she is. I really fell in love with her in her role as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator.But! she was also outstanding in others such as The Good German & (most recently) Elizabeth: The Golden Age. (& she's Australian! that's just fun.)

4 - Maggie GyllenhaalThis woman makes me realize that I can (& should) live my life exactly the way that I want to. Her role in Stranger Than Fiction is the reason I now have a dream to open a peculiar little shop of my very own (more on that in a later post) & why I don't care anymore about whether or not I will utilize my English Literature degree with a career. Also, I simply love the way she carries herself. I can't really put my finger on it, but there is definitely something unique about her posture. (PS Mona Lisa Smile = my other Maggie favorite).

3 - Evan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel Wood. What can I say? She has a beautiful voice. She has a kick-ass name (I have a weakness for girls with traditionally boys' names). She's hot. & to top it all off...She is 20 years old. TWENTY. That's right ladies & gentlemen. Miss Evan Rachel Wood was born on September 7, 1987. She's younger than me! I was completely flabbergasted by this when I found out (as if you couldn't already tell). She is super talented & has already accomplished so much for such a young age. I really, really admire her.
I discovered her in Running With Scissors, fell in love with her in King of California, & became slightly obsessed with her in her latest, Across the Universe.

2 - Zooey DeschanelThis lovely lady is about as quirky as they come. Look at that sweet little face! Don't you just want to stick her in your pocket & take her home with you? I do. Aside from her sweet nature, she has a truly incredible voice (& not just singing, mind you. her regular old speaking voice is also mesmerizing). Speaking of her voice, (get excited!) she has finally made an album! You can find out more about it on my dear friend Kaylen's blog happy notions...turns out Kaylen has girl crushes, too). A little random fact that I just discovered...Zooey & I have a very similar eye color: very light blue with a tinge of brown circling the pupil. fun!
First saw her in Almost Famous, really took a notice to her in Elf, got giddy with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, & knew we were soulmates after Bridge to Terabithia.

1 - Angelina JolieHere I am at #1...Angelina Jolie. Now I realize this may seem like a bit of a cliche...but I am convinced that Angelina Jolie is the sexiest person (not just woman) alive. I have been drawn to her for a very long time. Pre-Brad Pitt, Pre-Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Pre-adopting Maddox, even. I love that she has made mistakes in the past. I love that she went through a really awkward (& a little frightening?) phase that many people don't want to let her live down. & I love the woman that she has grown into.
I have many favorites for this one...so here are the highlights in list format. In chronological order: 1) Gia 2) Girl, Interrupted 3) Life or Something Like It 4) Beyond Borders 5) The Good Shepherd 6) A Mighty Heart

As you can see I'm slightly enamored with women who have very striking, angular features. It always seems to me that women with strong features usually have strong characters, as well. At least that's true as far as this list is concerned.
So I had a very hard time putting these in any sort of order...all five of these women are extremely talented & awe-inspiring.
I sincerely hope you respect them as much as I do.
& thank you for making it through such a long post!
all photos via google image search

scrabble-mania!

As I'm sure many of you are...I am slightly addicted to Scrabble.
So when I came across this etsy shop...I almost burst with excitement!

Littleput Books has all sorts of crafty-goodness made from Scrabble boards &/or tiles.
Really wonderful ideas!

Here are just a few:

Scrabble journals:

Scrabble magnets:

Scrabble pendants

(my personal favorite):

I think one of these would make a fantastic gift
for anyone who is an avid lover of scrabble (&/or) letters!

penguin mugs

Two of my favorites collide in these quirky beauties! (books & mugs...i'm a big fan).

what a great find! via black*eiffel

cabin fever

As I mentioned earlier, the dreary winter weather is really starting to get to me.
...
Thank goodness I have a wonderful SPRING BREAK to plan & look forward to!
Jason & I are leaving for Ft. Myers on March 8.
A nice long road trip & a few long days on the beach is exactly what I need to get my spirits back up. Looks like all my attention will be Florida focused for the next 2 weeks!

The last time we went to Ft. Myers was January of 2006...it was truly one of the happiest times we've ever spent together.

Here's a couple pictures from memory lane:Jason built a larger-than-life sand version
of his Great Dane, Gabriel...
& then proceeded to tackle me in the ocean,
resulting in one very bad sand burn.

february blues

I've been feeling a little down & swamped today.

So I thought I would post a picture that always makes me happy with memories of summer & Camp Ondessonk.

emily martin & jen oaks

I know that I've been posting a lot of etsy finds lately...but I have really been longing for/getting inspired by the art in these shops.

Emily Martin of The Black Apple

&

Jen Oaks Illustration














Different & so lovely quirk-ish.

jamie cullum

I've been doing house work all day...a real spring cleaning (on a snow day, no less) & I needed a little jazzy something to keep me going. So I was scrolling through my itunes & who should I find but good ol' Jamie Cullum...The album that really got me turned onto him was his major label debut, twentysomething.
He may be best known for his crazy percussion piano playing (& yes, I know the piano is a percussion instrument...but if you watch his All At Sea video, you'll see what I mean).

I feel that it's only right for me to post his song Twentysomething {it is pretty much my theme song these days (A. well, obviously I'm a twenty-something & B. I'm getting ready to graduate with a Bachelors in English Literature, what am I supposed to do with that?!...I feel ya buddy)}:


A couple other personal favorites include: his lovely renditions of I Get a Kick Out of You & Wind Cries Mary.
Hope you enjoy!

beautiful brass

I usually only like to wear silver or very colorful jewelry...but when I saw this "antiqued brass octopussy pendant necklace" on etsy, I fell in love.
pickypicky does have a silver version available...but I'm decidedly partial to this one.

sparkle power sew along

Candace of sparkle power! is hosting a sew-along! How fun!
The first project is pot holders &/or table runners.
The progress will be reported on this flickr group.
Go check it out!
via a room somewhere

ben folds

I'm going to see Ben Folds!
I've seen him once before, at the Fox Theater in St. Louis.
That was probably (most definitely) the best concert I've ever seen...you just can't top Guster, Ben Folds, & Rufus Wainwright all in one night. (You will definitely be hearing more on Guster at a later date...one of my favorites).
Now I'm going to see him again! on April 7 at Murray State University in Kentucky.
(It's a Monday night & we'll have to drive at least 4 hours after the show is over to get back for work...but you're only young once, right?)
So I thought while I have Ben Folds on the mind, I would share a little quirky video of his with all of you!
Enjoy:

holga photography

Before today I had never heard of a Holga camera...& look! not even $25!!! really? reeeally?

where have they been all my life?

This is why you need one:

via oh happy day via flickr

etsy obsessions

I love love love this quirky print for sale by rosiemusic on etsy.With just a couple alterations, this couple would be Jason & me.
(1-I only have 1 cat. 2-Jason has lighter hair than that.)
I feel like it was meant to hang in our living room.

Another etsy ever favorite of mine is lori marie's shop, prettylilthings.
She makes these swoon-worthy lovelies:

pining for these pins

I found these guitar pins on fredflare.com & fell in love...mostly because they reminded me of the show Chuck (actually the episode 'Chuck versus the Imported Hard Salami' to be exact).

"Computer geek by day. Government operative by night." This show is a little cheesy, a little hilarious, & a lot quirky. Zachary Levi's character, Chuck, is all kinds of endearing. Definitely worth checking out.
PS watch for the bromance between Chuck & Morgan.

Valentine's 2008

Boy oh boy...does my boy know me well. : )
Here are the gifts he gave me for Valentine's Day:

1) Two books:

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk...

and Fight Club also by Chuck

(I now officially own 7 of his 11 books!)

2) One dvd:

I really love the soundtrack for this musical, but I must admit...this is one of those movies that is much better in the theater because you just lose too much quality when you shrink it onto a tiny tv screen.

3)One mini-spree at Hobby Lobby! (yay, for new yarn!)

And...

4) One lovely night out for my favorite pizza.

What more could a girl ask for?!

post card perfection

What a fun piece of mail this would be! I know one gnome-carving boy who would be more than thrilled to see something like this in the mailbox. Who would you send one to?

via a little sussy

giveaways by mod*mom

Check out this fantastic Valentine's Day giveaway by mod*mom
...you'll especially love it if you have a blog of your very own. ; )

pick your nose & cassette tote

When Gabrielle Blair posted about these cups this morning on her blog Design Mom (full of inspiration & fun things even for people who aren't moms!), I was delighted because I am, of course (as you may remember from here), already a fan of the pick your nose cups.

Well, the cups got me browsing & I then discovered this quirky bag:
Don't you just love it?

vintage mannequin display head

This pretty lady is for sale on shunklies etsy shop. If I hadn't given up unnecessary spending, I would have already ordered it! but alas...now here she is for one of you!
PS shunklies blog.

don't judge my feet!

Just because it looks like this outside,
doesn't mean I'll be wearing woolly socks & snow boots.

(that's all freezing rain & hail, by the way...no snow.)

Socks & I just do not get along. They make my feet uncomfortable...I'd much rather my feet be a little cold than hot & sweaty. & in the few cases when it is absolutely necessary for me to wear socks, they always seem to slip down & get stuck in my shoe! grr.

So almost all year long (except for in really extreme cases),
you can find me wearing these.

My feet are much happier when they can move around & breathe...besides, I spend most of my winter days inside where it's warm anyway.

I don't have any real beef with shoes, though (aside from their close friendship with socks). So when I can find really cute closed-toe shoes that don't require socks, I get pretty excited.

You can imagine my thrill when Ali of Ali Loves Curtis posted about these beauties:







You can find them & others at Old Navy...Most are $19.50, but some are only $9.99, & these are a steal at $6.99!

happy birthday, scooter!

Today was Scooter's birthday (he is one of the quirkiest people you'll ever meet - as you can tell by the picture). Today reminded me of how much I miss him & how hilarious he is.
photo via larissaphotography.

It also made me think about how fun it would be to have one of these.

please judge this book by its cover.

This book is definitely on my list of greed. It combines so many things that I love (i.e. mostly books & art).

Flight of the Conchords

If you've never heard of these guys you are in for some serious quirk-hilarity.
I was introduced to this bromance by my soul-mate-in-the-form-of-a-best-friend, Kelsey (she's the pretty red-head), just over a year ago.

Here is the first video she showed me:

& it only gets better from there!
You can find more hilarious videos at youtube & more info about "'New Zealand's 4th most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo'. Now they are 'the almost award-winning fourth-most-popular folk duo in New Zealand.' This website explains almost all you never knew you needed to know about them."
You might also be interested in the HBO show.

PS aside from the video above, a few of my favorites (& suggestions) include: The Humans are Dead, Think About It, & If You're Into It.

loving late Christmas presents

I was just admiring the beautiful bag that one of my dearest friends (Charlie) gave me a couple weeks ago as a late Christmas gift. (don't you just love late gifts...especially when you aren't expecting one at all?)

I immediately fell in love with this bag & have been using it as my purse ever since.

I'm not sure where he picked this one up but there are a few available right now here.

The inside of each strap has a printed Warhol quote:

"I am a deeply superficial person."
&
"In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes."

& there is a mini soup can-shaped coin purse attached to a chain...the perfect size for my chapstick!

music you could eat off of

Aren't these bowls fantastic? They would look lovely in a quirky kitchen.
Thanks to Rachel from Black*Eiffel for posting them!

music lovers listen up!

One of my most recent addiction is Musicovery.com.
It is truly one of the most amusing sites I've seen in a while...
think interactive web-station...that's right. You control it! Everything from the decade to the genre & even the mood. I set it to energetic 90s music & now I'm listening to Beautiful Life by Ace of Base...yup, pretty much spot on.
Try it out.
I discovered it here. Another never-ending supply of amusement.
Enjoy!

PS another stumble upon find:via stumbleupon

A place to keep your personal quirk...

I have absolutely no idea where or what I will be doing five years from now...but I do know that I will be able to look back to today & remember exactly where & what I was doing.

I've been keeping tabs on myself with this "5 year diary."

Each page (for example today, February 6th) has space for 5 entries. You just fill in the year & log your life away! Once you get to the end of the book (& year), you just start over from the beginning.

The neat part is, next year & the year after that & so on, I will be able to see what I was thinking on the same day in the previous years.

At first I thought I might use it as a planner but I decided against that & instead use it as a mini-journal, which (despite my skepticism) has turned out to be a lot of fun! I've even dedicated every Thursday to a quote or word of the week.

I really love this book & am super proud of myself for keeping up with it. I've never been very good with this sort of thing, but it was really easy to get in the habit since there are only a few lines per day.

I'm also really glad I started it this year...now I will have a chronicle of the first half of my twenties (21-25) & then I can start a new one for the second half (26-30)!

Aside from being a great creative outlet...they are simple & pretty, hard-bound with a little red ribbon bookmark.

You Can Call Me Al

Alright, so I just had to post one more before I head to bed...This is an old quirk, but one of the all-time greatest.
This song has been stuck in my head all night & the video is just about one of the quirkiest things I've ever seen.
Paul Simon is a genius, Chevy Chase is just down-right hilarious, & together they're brilliant.
Enjoy.

pick your nose cups

I already have a whole list of things that I want to share!...but I think I will only post one for tonight.


These quirky Pick Your Nose Cups are great at any party! The first time I saw them was on New Years Eve...They were a riot. Each different nose has a name (like The Fortune Teller or The Leading Man) & each nose appears twice in a set...24 (12 oz.) cups in all. I bought some from perpeptualkid.com (you can find them here) for $7.49+shipping/set, but they are available on various sites which you can find just by searching "pick your nose cups."

See what fun they are! This is me taking a drink of champagne at midnight...this nose is called "The Starlet." I think we decided that "The Art Student" (minus a nose ring) is much closer to my actual nose size/shape, though.
There is only one draw-back...the cups are paper & therefore not very reusable.

Today is the day...

I've been putting this off for a couple weeks now (& by this, I mean writing the first post).
As I'm attempting to form these next sentences in my head, my fingers keep itching to type, "I'm not really sure why I've been putting it off" (but if I told you that it would be a lie).
The story goes like this:
Suddenly, not quite a month ago...& all thanks to the lovely Miss Kaylen, I truly discovered the blogging world. Now of course I was aware of blogs before & had even been a frequent visitor of some very lovely projects (such as Post Secret), but I had never really delved or searched through the various beauties that have always been right at my fingertips despite my state of utter unawareness.
Every day since then, I have eagerly shuffled through my insta-favorites & I quickly fell in love with the many blogs that bring me projects & recipes & fantastic ideas...(those blogs from the first days of my love affair, the ones that really drew me into the blogging world, are listed in the right hand column under -you guessed it- "blogs that drew me in"). Soon enough those blogs introduced me to more new (new to me anyway) blogs & before I knew it, I was absolutely head-over-heels infatuated with blogging.
It is a true infatuation because I find myself being secretly disappointed (& even a little angry, though I quickly realize the ridiculousness of the emotion) when a blog that I love isn't updated every day.
At that realization I knew I needed to create my own blog. Somewhere to share my fabulous findings or let a little creativity loose. Somewhere I could go when feeling a little narcissistic & wanting to show off a project (though this will rarely happen as I will probably still spend all of my time online).
So that is the story (a little more long-winded than intended)...
now for how the name of the blog originated:
My boyfriend, Jason,
(who may be better described as me in the male form...really, sometimes I think we are the same person), & I had a conversation a few months ago about how geeky is cool these days...just about as cool as it can get before it starts plummeting due to too much exposure (as all things do). & not just geeky, but artsy, eccentric, slightly off-kilter people & things have been on the rise for a while now.
This is truly a bittersweet time for the band-dork-drama-freak-scholastic-bowl-nerd-art-club-president type people that we are...
It is, on one hand, so exciting to finally see people appreciating things that we have loved & raved about all along but, on the other hand, it is entirely frustrating to see people finally appreciating the things that we have loved & raved about all along...These are our things, damnit, don't you go stealing them away from us only to grow tired of them & throw them to the way-side. But no, that's selfish...of course we want to share.
& share is precisely what I intend to do!
This blog will be (for the most part) dedicated to Quirk Culture (so aptly named by Jason).
I hope I have given a somewhat clear explanation for just what QC is, but if not...hopefully you will come to gather an understanding from my future posts!
PS some of the things I share with you will be old Quirk, some current, some main-streamish, some not...all of them will be things that I enjoy (& hope you will, too). If at any time you disagree with something being labeled as Quirky, by all means post a comment & state your case!
PPS thank you so much for making it through this ridiculously long post...I promise to make them more readable in the future.